Project Reach

Flynney · Feb 24, 2014

So my landlord has made it clear I can't fiberglass/paint etc in the property (eugh) so anyway since my ODST build is at home I thought I'd start on my original project plan, Reach Armour!

This is what I'm aiming for:

So Today I got everything cut out for the chest, went through 20 knives and got it finished in about 6-8 hours, I lost track of when I started. Anyway the chest!

I used the version 4 template

front

side

sideish

back

The back is a little messy, but I plan to clean it up prior to painting.

Also ironman (bored)

Think I'm getting somewhat better handling foam, but still causes heartache alot!

mattmcg13 · Feb 24, 2014

Looking great man, cant wait to see more

Mstruvmgc · Feb 25, 2014

Looking good

I love the random ironman lol

Flynney · Feb 26, 2014

Well taking a break from coursework and what better way to spend it than measuring, cutting and tracing. Security Shoulder!

Side Profile

Front Profile

Mstruvmgc · Feb 27, 2014

Looks good

Flynney · Feb 27, 2014

Not sure how I feel about the grenadier shoulder, Will probably be revisited at some point when I get thinner foam, but here it is!

also knives! eugh!

Flynney · Mar 2, 2014

Got the biceps done today, and have my helmet pepped and resined since I went home this weekend. (no pictures unfortunately.)

Mother is into craft and bought this machine http://www.brother-usa.com/scanncut/#.UxOM8fl_vng

Cut out the entire pep quite accurately in 20/30 minutes!

Here are the biceps.

and a test fit

I finished my chest detail today as well and tried it on, fits great, but I have little to no mobility in my arms, do I just dremel down the thickness in those areas to get past this?

TomcatHeavy · Mar 2, 2014

I'm really liking your build, Flynney! I am going to be breaking ground on a Reach build and your progress and build quality are motivating to see; keep up the good work!

With respect to the arm mobility, which direction are you having most of your problems with? From the looks of the chest (which looks excellent) getting your arms up over your head, or at least up more than parallel with the ground could be problematic. If you are having problems moving your arms to grasp/ curl in front of you, I can see that too.

Ultimately, you need to be happy with it, but in my experience it becomes a little more art than science. You have the shape and form of a Halo: Reach chest to the letter; that is probably the most important place to start. From there, look at taking away material in the places that limit your movement in denominations that you are comfortable with, and in such a way that compliments the overall shape. You'd have to go pretty far to take away the recognizable lines of the Reach chest as you currently have them so you really can't mess up too badly.

Flynney · Mar 3, 2014

Thanks for the feedback, I'm still very much learning when it comes to foam, the hardest part being converting normal pep files into foam templates when non are available.

Regarding movement, up and down is alright, it is indeed curling them in front of me that's problematic. It's the arm seals, so I'm not sure if to dremel them down or to use thinner foam, I guess I'll try both and see what I prefer, thanks again and I look forward to seeing what build you come out with!

EVAkura · Mar 3, 2014

Flynney said:
Thanks for the feedback, I'm still very much learning when it comes to foam, the hardest part being converting normal pep files into foam templates when non are available.

Regarding movement, up and down is alright, it is indeed curling them in front of me that's problematic. It's the arm seals, so I'm not sure if to dremel them down or to use thinner foam, I guess I'll try both and see what I prefer, thanks again and I look forward to seeing what build you come out with!

I hear you on the "free hand" making of foam templates from pep files! But I must admit, it is a very rewarding task.

If I may suggest one thing. I have learned that foam gets really weak if you sand it down too much, or used thinner craft foam... especially if you have a limited range of movement in that place that you are reducing the thickness. I have found a way to alleviate this weak area by simply hot gluing fabric or a sheet of elastic fabric to the inside first. This will help keep the foam from tearing, and you can go as this as 2mm (from my experiences). I hope this helps!

Flynney · Mar 3, 2014

EVAkura said:
I hear you on the "free hand" making of foam templates from pep files! But I must admit, it is a very rewarding task.

If I may suggest one thing. I have learned that foam gets really weak if you sand it down too much, or used thinner craft foam... especially if you have a limited range of movement in that place that you are reducing the thickness. I have found a way to alleviate this weak area by simply hot gluing fabric or a sheet of elastic fabric to the inside first. This will help keep the foam from tearing, and you can go as this as 2mm (from my experiences). I hope this helps!

Sounds good, thinking about it the arm seal looks like some sort of vinyl so that may work, thanks for the tip!

Flynney · Mar 3, 2014

And today the forearms were done, I'm happy with the size, but they're a little tight towards the lower end. I'll sort it out later, this will be my last update of armour pieces until probably next week, I got quite a bit of coursework and I need more knives.

Test fit:

Front view:

Bottom View:

Flynney · Mar 6, 2014

I went home early today and thought I needed a weapon, I dont quite fancy making one from scratch just yet, but in due time.

I had an old TM FAMAS laying around with some spare G36 parts as well. This would probably make a good base for a battle rifle and the scope rail is about the same shape as well. I cut off the top rail from the FAMAS and attatched the scope rail on top of it with hot glue, the plan is to reinforce this with fiberglass filler and then body filler over the top to make it blend into one. I haven't quite figured out where I'll go from there, but hey it;ll be a functional rifle by the end!

and thats it so far. Thoughts?

vshore100 · Mar 6, 2014

Excellent foam work Flynney! The scaling looks great too!

Flynney · Mar 9, 2014

So I sort of got my gun to a finished state, I ran out of sandpaper since I used alot finishing off the commando helmet, anyway heres the gun as it stands now and a quick preview of my commando helmet.

and yes that is a 5kg tub of PVA

Alot of inspiration for the commando has come from BLACKULA727 on how to style it since I couldn't find alot of reference pictures (maybe I'm just lazy who knows) So the rest will be done when I get my magic sculp

Flynney · Mar 13, 2014

Small update:

I've been told my bits and bobs to fit the visor has arrived at home, so a trip back is on the cards this weekend. I've been playing around with different foam thicknesses and testing mobility on the chest, the plan I've got for now is to scrap the arm undersuit part. I can't move well with it on, but its fine without!

I'm not too fussed on game accuracy and would rather I could wear the thing comfortably than walk around like a plank all day.

Heres what I have so far and a comparison on different thicknesses

arms:

Some quick snaps of the helmet:

Any idea how I would go about getting the dremeled down area smooth?

and a quick snap of everything I have so far:

Flynney · Mar 22, 2014

Seems like it's been about a week since I last posted. Coursework deadlines and wrong parts being shipped has delayed the helmet somewhat and this is worsened by the fact I can only work on it when I travel home on weekends.

Anyway the helmet is just about ready for paint now and this is some progress pics with the installation of the visor.

Visor:

I went for a mirrored multi-iridium visor. I thought it looked cool and only cost £10

some snaps before the clay molding was done around the visor area.

A snap after the clay cured and before it was cleaned up (I am not very good at working with clay

)

And after being cleaned up!

I'm quite happy with the result, just glad that everything actually worked and it doesn't look like a mess!

No progress on the actual armour since I haven't had time for it, but the cod and thigh have been marked onto foam so maybe something within the next few days!

Sgtpearce · Mar 22, 2014

I would like to know more about the scanncut, what thickness of foam can it handle and how are the blades in it doing? It seems like a neat little machine haha the Python of the Foam world, it's a machine reference.

Flynney · Mar 23, 2014

Sgtpearce said:
I would like to know more about the scanncut, what thickness of foam can it handle and how are the blades in it doing? It seems like a neat little machine haha the Python of the Foam world, it's a machine reference.

Unfortunately the machine doesn't do the foam, it cuts out the paper templates that you will use to trace onto the foam. I tested it out when doing the pep for the commando helmet, I haven't used it for cutting out templates since I dont have it when I'm at university.

If you want to buy one you can get it from here
http://www.amazon.com/Brother-ScanNCut-CM100DM-Cutting-Machine/dp/B00F3J38GQ

Sgtpearce · Mar 23, 2014

Oh haha my bad I was under the impression that it was cutting the hobby foam like the 2mm stuff. Could be good for doing card stock building though.

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